Malibu Playhouse gets magical with the world premiere of "Flim-Flam: Houdini and the Hereafter"

Anteaus Company gets tragical with the "The Curse of Oedipus"

Malibu Playhouse gets magical with the world premiere of "Flim-Flam: Houdini and the Hereafter," and Anteaus Company gets tragical with the "The Curse of Oedipus."

The Hollywood Fringe Festival Fifth annual event featuring over 100 new plays, revivals, musicals, solo shows, etc., by local, national and international companies and performers in multiple area venues. Through June 29. Tickets, schedules and info at (323) 455-4585 and www.hollywoodfringe.org

City of Angels Musical Theatre Guild closes its season with this Tony-winning send-up of film noir. Moss Theater at New Roads School, 3131 Olympic Blvd., Santa Monica. Sun., 7 p.m. $45. (818) 848-6844.

For the Record: Tarantino This tribute show featuring songs and scenes from the “Pulp Fiction” director’s filmography is presented as a benefit for Center Theatre Group’s new-play production programs; with special guests. DBA, 7969 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood. Sun., 7 p.m. $75-$125. (213) 972-3097.

A Return to the Long Beach Home Companion 2014 Long Beach Playhouse sends up local politics, in the style of a 1940s radio show, in its annual fundraiser. Offices of Keesal, Young & Logan, Union Bank Building-14th Floor, 400 Oceangate, Long Beach. Wed., 5:30 p.m. $85. (562) 494-1014.

Whenever I read about the artistic scandals of the past — the near-riot provoked by Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring,” for example — I glumly conclude that we have grown so jaded that art has lost its power to appall.

"Mission: Impossible -- Rogue Nation" headed into the weekend with expectations of a $40-million opening in the U.S. and Canada, but Paramount Pictures on Sunday reported that its Tom Cruise film actually brought in an estimated $56 million.

Fans who saw the last show of U2’s North American tour Friday at Madison Square Garden in New York City had an incredible bit of luck. For one thing, Bill Clinton was in the house, but blessedly refrained from sitting in on saxophone.

Longstanding discord between the families of star singers Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown erupted again Saturday to mar the memorial service for their daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, in the Atlanta suburb of Alpharetta, Ga.

Winning the box-office derby on its opening weekend was a foregone conclusion for “Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation,” leaving only the question of just how formidable a draw the latest installment in the Tom Cruise-led thriller franchise would be.